Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Climate warming will alter the impact of microplastics on the bioavailability of arsenic in a subtropical estuary

Researchers incubated sediment from China's Min River estuary under warming conditions with PLA and PET microplastics at different doses, using DGT techniques to measure arsenic bioavailability. High-dose PLA MPs significantly enhanced arsenic bioavailability under warming while low-dose PET MPs inhibited it, demonstrating that climate warming and MP type interact to alter how arsenic mobilizes in estuarine sediments.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastics in altering arsenic fractionation and microbial community structures in arsenic-contaminated riverine sediments

The addition of microplastics to arsenic-contaminated riverine sediments altered arsenic fractionation and shifted microbial community structures, with biodegradable plastics producing different effects compared to conventional polymers. The study demonstrates that microplastics can modify the environmental behavior of co-existing toxic metals in sediment ecosystems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of the redox properties of microplastics and their effect on arsenite oxidation

Researchers quantified the redox properties of weathered microplastics and found that environmentally aged phenol-formaldehyde microplastics can influence arsenite oxidation, revealing a previously unknown role for microplastics in biogeochemical redox processes.

2022 Fundamental Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine microplastics enhance release of arsenic in coastal aquifer during seawater intrusion process

Researchers found that marine microplastics carried by seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers enhanced arsenic release from sediments, with negatively charged microplastics competing with arsenate for adsorption sites on iron minerals. The study identifies a new environmental risk from the interaction of two major coastal contaminants.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics and arsenic on nutrients and microorganisms in rice rhizosphere soil

Researchers investigated how polystyrene and polytetrafluoroethylene microplastics interact with arsenic contamination in rice rhizosphere soil. The study found that microplastics reduced arsenic bioavailability and altered microbial communities, while both pollutants together inhibited key soil enzyme activities and reduced available nitrogen and phosphorus, suggesting combined microplastic-arsenic pollution can impair nutrient cycling and crop growth.

2021 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 406 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and arsenic speciation in edible bivalves from the coast of China: Distribution, bioavailability, and human health risk

This study examined both microplastic and arsenic contamination in oysters and mussels from the Chinese coastline, finding that the two pollutants coexist and interact. Oysters contained about 58 microplastic particles per gram, and the size of microplastics influenced which forms of arsenic were present. The findings highlight food safety concerns, since people who eat shellfish may be exposed to both microplastics and arsenic simultaneously.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic mediated arsenic toxicity involves differential bioavailability of arsenic and modulated uptake in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Researchers examined how polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics interact with arsenic contamination in rice paddies. They found that at low arsenic levels, microplastics actually reduced arsenic uptake by rice plants, but at high arsenic concentrations the combination produced synergistic toxic effects. The study reveals that the interaction between microplastics and heavy metals in agricultural soils is more complex than previously thought and depends heavily on contaminant concentration levels.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene and low-density polyethylene pellets are less effective in arsenic adsorption than uncontaminated river sediment

Researchers found that polystyrene and low-density polyethylene microplastic pellets adsorb significantly less arsenic than natural river sediment, suggesting microplastics may actually reduce arsenic mobility when mixed with contaminated sediments.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastics on nutrients and metal concentrations in river sediments

Researchers investigated how microplastics influence nutrient and metal concentrations in river sediments, finding that microplastics alter the distribution of pollutants through their capacity to adsorb contaminants and support biofilm formation on their hydrophobic surfaces.

2020 Environmental Pollution 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Arsenic adsorption by carboxylate and amino modified polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics: kinetics and mechanisms

Researchers found that functionalized polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics can adsorb arsenic from water, with carboxylate-modified particles showing higher capacity than amino-modified ones, and that salinity and humic acids inhibit adsorption, confirming microplastics can alter arsenic behavior in ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Conventional and biodegradable microplastics affected arsenic mobility and methylation in paddy soils through distinct chemical-microbial pathways

A 98-day paddy soil experiment found that conventional microplastics reduced arsenic in porewater but increased methylated arsenic fractions, while biodegradable microplastics increased both porewater arsenic and methylation, suggesting distinct chemical-microbial pathways affecting arsenic mobility and toxicity.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

The mechanism of polystyrene microplastics to affect arsenic volatilization in arsenic-contaminated paddy soils

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics at different concentrations and sizes affect arsenic volatilization in contaminated paddy soils, finding that microplastic addition increased As volatilization by up to 21.8% in highly contaminated soils. The mechanism involved microplastic-driven shifts in bacterial community composition (particularly Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes) and arsM gene expression, alongside changes in arsenic fractionation.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on the Fate and Behaviour of Arsenic in the Environment and Their Significance for Drinking Water Supply

This review highlights a largely overlooked problem: microplastics in the environment can adsorb arsenic — one of the world's most dangerous water contaminants — onto their surfaces and potentially transport it to new locations or make it harder to remove during drinking water treatment. The authors call for urgent research into how the presence of microplastics affects the performance of arsenic removal technologies, since both pollutants now co-occur in water sources globally.

2023 Processes 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil pH has a stronger effect than arsenic content on shaping plastisphere bacterial communities in soil

Soil pH had a stronger influence than arsenic contamination on shaping the bacterial communities colonizing microplastic surfaces (plastisphere) in contaminated soils, highlighting pH as a key driver of plastisphere ecology.

2021 Environmental Pollution 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions Between Heavy Metals and Microplastics in Surface Marine Sediments, Chanthaburi River Mouth, Eastern Gulf of Thailand

Researchers assessed heavy metal and microplastic contamination in surface marine sediments from the mouth of Thailand's Chanthaburi River, finding interactions between metal pollutants and plastic particles that affect contaminant bioavailability and ecological risk in estuarine environments.

2025 Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences
Article Tier 2

Exposure to microplastics lowers arsenic accumulation and alters gut bacterial communities of earthworm Metaphire californica

Researchers examined how microplastics interact with arsenic contamination in earthworms and their gut bacteria. They found that microplastics actually reduced arsenic accumulation in earthworm tissues by adsorbing the arsenic and lowering its bioavailability. The study suggests that while microplastics altered gut bacterial communities, their presence may lessen arsenic toxicity in soil organisms by changing how the metal moves through the food chain.

2019 Environmental Pollution 264 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-transport of arsenic and micro/nano-plastics in saturated soil

Column experiments found that 100 nm nanoplastic particles reduced arsenic transport in saturated sand by adsorbing arsenic ions, while 5 micron microplastics enhanced arsenic transport through electrostatic adsorption and pore plugging, demonstrating size-dependent and opposing effects of micro- and nanoplastics on co-contaminant mobility.

2023 Environmental Research 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastic alters the redox state and arsenic metabolization in the freshwater bivalve Limnoperna fortunei

Researchers exposed the freshwater mussel Limnoperna fortunei to polystyrene microplastics in combination with arsenic, finding that microplastics altered the bivalve's redox state and interfered with arsenic metabolization pathways. The results suggest microplastics can impair an organism's ability to convert toxic forms of arsenic to less toxic metabolites, worsening arsenic toxicity.

2023 Toxicology Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Physicochemical properties of environmental media can affect the adsorption of arsenic (As) by microplastics

Researchers found that microplastics in farmland soil can absorb arsenic, a known carcinogen, and that the amount absorbed depends on soil properties like organic matter content and nutrient levels. This is the first study to examine microplastic-arsenic interactions in natural soil conditions across 12 Chinese provinces. The findings are important for human health because microplastics carrying arsenic in agricultural soil could increase the transfer of this toxic element into food crops.

2023 Environmental Pollution 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of arsenic on the transport and attachment of microplastics in porous media

Researchers studied how arsenic, a common groundwater contaminant, affects the movement of microplastics through soil. They found that arsenic in water generally reduced how far microplastics traveled by promoting their attachment to soil particles, though this effect depended on arsenic concentration, water flow speed, and soil moisture levels. The findings help predict how microplastics and heavy metals may interact and spread together in underground water systems.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 20 citations